Research on the effect of car’s roll motion on the aerodynamic characteristics of high-speed car

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to study the aerodynamic mechanism of periodic roll motion of car body and provide engineering reference for car design and safety evaluation. A simplified roll motion model is established based on a real car model. The two-wheel centerline of the left-wheel symmetrical section is considered as the roll axis, and the overset mesh method was used to model the sinusoidal roll motion of the car. According to the experimental data, the frequency and maximum roll angle were set to be 10 Hz and 2.2°, respectively. A transient numerical solver based on the detached-eddy simulation method is employed. The accuracy of the numerical method is validated by means of the wind tunnel test. Due to the asymmetry of the movement, the aerodynamic change of the roll motion was obvious. It is found that the roll motion is closely related to the aerodynamic characteristics of the car. Because of the hysteresis effect, the phase of aerodynamic force on the car shifts and the most dangerous position of the car is obtained. In addition, the aerodynamic differences of the car parts are found, and the wake is analyzed in detail.